AIDS AND AFRICA

Leaders from 14 South African nations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held their annual summit to grapple with the combined forces of the AIDS pandemic and poverty that have devastated much of the region, according to an August 10 story by Agence France Presse. "Productivity has gone down and the burden of dependence is getting bigger," said the SADC Executive Secretary. "The fabric of society is dislocated and fragmented. AIDS is no longer a health issue alone, but a development issue." SADC hopes reforms will help resolve regional problems, including wars and natural disasters. Africa News also reported on the SADC meeting on August 15. link

Other African countries continue to battle HIV/AIDS. The Associated Press reported on August 7 that the Ethiopian government reached a deal with international pharmaceutical companies to import discounted AIDS drugs. According to Ethiopia's Health Ministry, the country's AIDS death toll is expected to reach 1.7 million by the end of the year. In Nigeria's HIV/AIDS fight, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo urged his armed forces to distribute free condoms and step up HIV/AIDS education and awareness programs to educate soldiers about "illicit and unprotected sex." In West Africa, Senegal has avoided the worst of the continent's AIDS epidemic, according to an August 11 story by the Associated Press. Africa has more than 70 percent of the 36 million people worldwide who are living with HIV/AIDS, but Senegal launched a far-reaching campaign - calling on politicians, aid workers, religious leaders and prostitutes - that has helped stabilize the country's infection rate at less than 2 percent.

At July's South African Bishops' Conference, the issue at the top of the Catholic group's agenda was a proposal to approve the use of condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention. Most news coverage criticized the conference's conclusion that condoms are "an immoral and misguided weapon in our battle against HIV/AIDS." By undermining abstinence and marital fidelity, the group said, "condoms may even be one of the main reasons for the spread of HIV/AIDS," according to an August 13 story by The Washington Post. Activists criticized the bishops' statement, saying it contributes to widespread stigma and discrimination against people with AIDS. link

SAVING WOMEN'S LIVES

Maternal mortality, lack of reproductive health care, poverty, and violence against women are issues that continue to threaten women's lives. In Zambia, a network called the Prevention of Maternal Mortality was launched to lower the current maternal mortality rate of 649 a year, said Zambia's Health Minister in an August 2 story disseminated by Africa News. The minister said complications resulting in maternal death were predictable, most happening during or immediately after childbirth. He noted that even if a woman reached a health facility in time, other risks of maternal death arose from shortages of drugs and equipment, blood supplies for transfusions and skilled care. link

In Pakistan, Health-Oriented Preventive Education and the Asia Foundation launched a similar project to improve access to emergency obstetric care in rural Sindh, where only one in 20 women with pregnancy complications reaches an adequately equipped heath care facility, according to an August 9 story by The Business Recorder. In another Business Recorder story from August 13, the Federation of International Gynecology Obstetrics (FIGO) has selected Pakistan for the "Save Mother" project. Priority areas for the project will include women's right to life and to contraception, AIDS and discrimination, unsafe abortion, genital mutilation, violence against women and related issues.

The United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) announced August 9 that it would give $1 million in grants for programs to end violence against women in 21 countries. Agence France Press reported August 10 that grants ranging from $25,000 to $120,000 would go to support programs in countries such as Colombia, Namibia and Thailand. In all, UNIFEM said, it received 325 proposals with funding requests totaling $17 million.

THE GLOBAL GAG RULE

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted August 1 on a bill sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., to reverse the global gag rule. The San Francisco Chronicle reported August 2 that the measure is expected to pass the full Senate this fall, but is unlikely to become law because Bush has vowed to veto any such measure. The GOP-controlled House rejected a similar bill in May. link

A judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRLP) against Bush that had argued the global gag rule censored people who advocate abortion rights but not those who are opposed to abortion. Reuters reported on August 1 that CRLP plans to appeal the dismissal. link  

DEMOGRAPHIC AND POPULATION TRENDS

Austrian researchers predict world population growth will peak at 9 billion by 2070. The Associated Press reported on August 1 that the study also found that the number of people aged 60 or older will more than quadruple by 2100. A demographer at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria warned that the predictions should not mean the end of population concerns because populations will still be increasing in some of the world's poorest areas, according to an August 2 story by Reuters. link

To view Nature's August 2 "Feature of the Week" that first featured the Austrian study on the latest population trends, go to: link

The Associated Press reported August 8 that technology is playing a bigger and bigger role in counting the world's estimated 6.1 billion people. "The computer, the telecommunications revolution, has made enormous differences," said the Director of the U.N. Statistics Division. "We're able to process information much more rapidly." The AP article also said census experts from around the world say factors such as wars, government opposition, and individuals refusing to be counted hinder accurate counts. link

CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND RIGHTS

In an effort to mobilize funds and focus international attention on the Congo war, a report on Congo's children was published jointly by Save the Children, Oxfam and Christian Aid. It found that malaria, measles and malnutrition are killing four out of 10 infants in part of eastern Congo. The report said, "There is a huge gap between the level of humanitarian need and the current humanitarian response," according to an August 6 story by Associated Press and an August 7 story by The Financial Times. link

The United Nations General Assembly is preparing for its final Special Session of the year, this one on the world's children. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said, "The world has fallen short of achieving most of the goals of the World Summit for Children...largely because of insufficient investment," according to an August 6 story disseminated by the Africa News. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund, agreed: "Changing the world with children is not just a slogan. It is a statement about how human progress is best and most efficiently achieved". link

POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT

A report issued at the U.N.-sponsored World Water Forum in Stockholm found that as many as 2.7 billion people, almost one-third of the world's population, will live in regions facing severe water scarcity by 2025. The report warned that tensions over water rights in Asia and Africa could erupt into serious clashes if governments don't find new ways to use existing supplies more efficiently, according to an August 14 story by The Los Angeles Times. The Independent (London) reported the same day that water shortages have been spreading over recent decades as more land is swallowed up for farming and irrigation and growing populations produce more water-borne pollution. link    link

OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran an August 12 opinion piece by editorial board member Kimberley Mills that said the Vatican risks "ignominy" if it cannot find a way to relax the ban on condoms, particularly in Africa where more than 25 million people have been infected with HIV. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also ran an August 7 editorial criticizing the Vatican position. [http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/opinion/34765_condomcolumn.shtml   [http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/aug01/aids-edit080601.asp]

On August 13, a New York Times editorial said Americans concerned about the direction of President Bush's foreign policy are looking to the Senate for relief. It said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will have increased power to press for the vital causes he has championed over the years, like increasing spending to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa and lifting the gag rule the White House has imposed on recipients of American family planning aid that use their own money to advocate abortion rights. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/13/opinion/13MON1.html

The above analysis was written by Ketayoun Darvich-Kodjouri and Kathy Bonk at the Communications Consortium Media Center, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005, 202/326-8700.

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